Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Poisoned Holy Grail
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"It's been a while since I last rode in a carriage."
As they headed to the plaza, a carriage bound for the capital was already prepared.
Regin boarded with his companions, and they had been traveling for two hours now.
"Have you ridden one before?"
"Yeah, once when I went to Celdorado. As you know, it's at the far edge of the east."
"Celdorado... That's the elven kingdom."
Greg nodded, reminiscing about that time.
"Yeah. I stopped by briefly back when I was courting my wife. Heh heh. I was pretty bold back then. A dwarf thinking of going to Celdorado, of all places."
"Were you allowed inside?"
"I begged them to let me in. I really wanted to turn the place upside down, but I had to hold back since I was there to ask my mother-in-law for permission to marry."
"Ah."
"The weather was just as overcast as this back then."
Regin tended to hold back whenever Greg's family came up.
It was hard to gauge exactly how much it hurt him.
'I don't talk much about my own family either.'
When he lived as Park Jin-seong, he never bothered telling people he was an orphan.
Even if asked, he just didn't feel like sharing.
So he never pried into Greg's stories either.
'His expression suggests more good memories than I thought.'
There was no need to be that cautious.
He could see Greg smiling as he recalled those days.
It must have been because his time with his wife had been happy.
"You had an elf wife?"
"Yeah. She's passed on now."
"Ahem."
Zeke, sitting next to Regin, cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Sorry. I didn't know."
"Heh heh, no need. I brought it up first."
"Anyway, are those three still climbing the Tower?"
"Yeah. You said you're not doing any exploring yourself."
"Right. I don't have the combat prowess for that."
"You don't have to be a great fighter to climb the Tower."
Zeke chuckled and shook his head.
"For someone like me, born without mana and with a scrawny body, some things are just impossible."
"..."
"Don't worry about it."
Even mentioning his innate weakness, Zeke showed no sign of dejection.
If anything, he seemed proud.
"I'm living life my own way. Not everyone in this world is meant to be an explorer."
"That's true. If I hadn't climbed the Tower, I'd probably still be at the forge. That kind of life has plenty of meaning too."
Zeke was right.
It was a world where combat skills in the Tower mattered, but it didn't revolve solely around that.
'It's also a good place for non-combatants to shine.'
It was different from when DAT was just a game.
Now, he could utilize people like Zeke in more detailed ways.
Depending on how he used them, he could prepare for what lay ahead.
'I didn't bring Zeke for nothing.'
He'd been to the underground sewers before, but data was lacking.
In such situations, informants like Zeke naturally proved invaluable.
"By the way, the portal should be opening soon."
"Yeah."
"You going right in?"
Talking about the Tower made Greg fidget restlessly with a laugh.
"Well, we'll head in as soon as we're ready."
Regin nodded with a smile.
Combatants like them didn't have much to do in the kingdom anyway.
'Most don't. Especially in the early game.'
Gazing at the cloudy sky, Regin fell into thought.
The capital was gradually coming into view in the distance.
Creak—
"You're the ones summoned by Marquis Dylan."
"Understood. You may proceed."
After traveling for a while, they arrived at the capital's entrance.
Unlike the west, guards stood at the city gates from the start.
Once the coachman showed their identification and permit, the guards stepped aside and let them enter.
'The palace, the grand buildings... Just like the capital I saw countless times in DAT.'
Regin took in the cityscape unfolding before his eyes.
Compared to the west, there were massive buildings and neatly designed architecture.
Seeing the overwhelming, gleaming palace in the center really drove home that this was the capital.
'And it's starting to feel like the early game is wrapping up.'
Arriving at the capital was a kind of signal.
It meant the early stages were ending, and DAT's main game was about to begin.
'It came faster than expected, but now I can check things I missed before.'
Gauging the game's pace, Regin steeled himself.
"Zeke."
"Yeah."
"We three need to head to Marquis Dylan's office first."
"Should I get off here?"
"Yeah."
On the way to Marquis Dylan's office.
They stopped the carriage briefly and let Zeke off as Regin continued.
"Before we arrive, could you find Preton and deliver this to him?"
Rustle.
He handed Zeke a pre-written letter.
It wasn't an unreasonable request. Zeke was already part of Delbach, under Preton's command.
"Got it. I'll pass it to the house leader when I see him."
There were things he needed to confirm now that they were in the capital.
This was the first step in that plan.
'Send Zeke ahead first and think. Better to assess the situation before deciding.'
It was one of the great strategies Regin had recently picked up.
* * *
"Good to see you again, Marquis Dylan."
Marquis Dylan's office in the capital.
He'd heard it was a building owned by Dylan himself, and its scale was truly immense.
Given its location near the palace, it was geographically significant too.
'It shows his high standing in the kingdom.'
Marquis Dylan wasn't called a power player for nothing.
In terms of influence, he was one of the top five in the kingdom.
"Welcome. Regin Petrichio, and Greg and Seria Pillen."
As they entered the office, Marquis Dylan greeted them with a smile.
It was a different expression from the one-on-one meeting with Regin just a day ago.
'Looks like he's finished his calculations.'
He must have figured out how to use this party.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have summoned them so soon.
"First, I need to make a formal report. For that, I require testimony from all three of you about the demon encounter."
At Dylan's words, the butler brought a processed mana stone and handed it to him.
It looked much like a receiver but served a different purpose.
"This is a Recording Mana Stone. It's an item crafted with magic. Everything you say from now on will be recorded here."
With that, Regin and his companions began reporting the encounter with the demon man.
It was straightforward—just recounting the facts as they happened.
For the code Regin had mentioned yesterday, he and Greg had aligned their stories beforehand, so no issues there.
"Hold on."
They were in the middle of testifying about the events when Dylan sharpened his gaze toward Regin.
"You used a hole on the 8th Floor?"
"Yes, that's right. We referenced a book from the library to find it."
Regin could see why Dylan had the palace's trust.
When he named the book, Dylan paused in thought before nodding.
"Carlo's book... Understood."
He looked like he'd realized something.
"Those holes on the 8th Floor might be passages frequently used by the back-alley group."
Regin had thought the same.
Verdante wasn't a group you ran into easily on lower floors.
They operated from at least the 15th Floor and up.
'Meeting Verdante on the 8th Floor felt off at first. But if those holes are their routes, it makes sense.'
It hadn't been a coincidence.
They'd just crossed paths with the demon while using the group's passages.
"Good intel. I'd advise caution when using those holes on the 8th Floor from now on."
"Understood."
He nodded.
No need to worry about running into them again on lower floors.
They'd confirmed the holes were the issue.
"That concludes the testimony."
Tap.
Dylan tapped the mana stone and continued.
"Now, I'd like to make a proposal."
"A proposal?"
"Yes. The reason for the official testimony was partly for this."
Dylan pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to the group.
"It's an oath document."
"..."
"From now on, Regin's party will cooperate in pursuing the back-alley group Verdante, and all related activities will be under the kingdom's sanction."
Suppressing his pounding heart, he checked the oath's contents.
Honestly, it was a quest he'd never seen in DAT, so he was a bit nervous.
He'd never made a deal like this with the kingdom before.
"It's worded complicatedly, but in summary, it means reporting to the kingdom whenever you pursue 'Verdante.' Simple enough."
Simple my ass.
Regin stifled a wry laugh inwardly.
It screamed tedious and bothersome.
'From now on, even adding party members requires reporting to the kingdom. Our party won't just be some random explorer group anymore.'
In exchange for sharing the kingdom's secrets, party composition now had to be reported too.
He had no plans to recruit anyone soon, but it would be a hassle going forward.
'But...'
Regin's eyes went to the bottom of the oath.
The reward section.
This part appealed to him.
"In the event of results, the palace will discuss and open the kingdom's treasury."
Dylan said it confidently, clearly proud of that clause.
"Depending on achievements, we can provide up to Tier 4 treasures."
It was an obvious ploy.
Dangle a reward and let greed do the work.
But Regin thought it was worth it.
'Tier 4? For us who haven't even reached the 15th Floor... They're serious.'
The reward was too substantial to refuse.
* * *
DAT items were broadly classified into three categories.
1. Common items.
2. Sacred relics.
3. Treasures.
Of course, these were major categories with finer subdivisions.
But generally, they fell into these three.
'Common items are things obtained or crafted in the Tower. Sacred relics are like the Saint's Sword.'
And the third was something they'd never laid eyes on yet.
Treasures.
'Of course, treasures have grades too. Not all are equal.'
Treasures ranged from Tier 1 to 5, with higher being better.
Tier 4 treasures, though.
"Of course, you'll need to produce commensurate results."
Dylan's words barely registered.
Regin desperately fought the grin tugging at his lips and nodded.
"We'll swear it. What about you two, Greg and Seria?"
"If you're in, we're in too."
"Well, the moment we learned about the back-alley group, reporting to the kingdom was inevitable anyway."
They both nodded coolly.
'Seria's last point nails it.'
As he signed the oath, Regin quickly calculated the pros and cons.
The moment they revealed knowledge of Verdante, some oversight was inevitable.
But getting treasures out of it?
'What a sweet deal.'
For Regin, who could pursue Verdante anytime...
The lack of a time limit was the biggest perk.
'Whenever I want a treasure, I can just use the kingdom.'
Dylan's plan to manipulate him with rewards went slightly off course at that moment.